SVT and SR were aware that trust survey figures were manipulated

Figures from the SOM Institute, cited by SVT and SR to illustrate the allegedly high level of trust in public service, are based on manipulated data. It has now also emerged that SVT and SR were aware of the shortcomings in the survey but never mentioned this publicly.

Each year, the SOM Institute measures Swedes’ trust in various media outlets, and every time, public service comes out on top. Among right-wing voters, however, trust has never been lower. According to the SOM Institute, the results are representative of the Swedish population, but it has recently become apparent that certain groups are underrepresented in the calculations, and the results have not been weighted.

Sweden Democrats’ voters are the group with the lowest trust in public service, and they are also significantly underrepresented in the SOM survey year after year. Other underrepresented groups include young people and those with lower levels of education.

In a follow-up article, Kvartal states that SVT and SR have been aware of the shortcomings in the SOM survey but have not communicated this externally. In reports to the government, consultative statements, and blog posts, the companies have repeatedly referred to the SOM Institute’s misleading figures without mentioning that SD voters are severely underrepresented.

Were aware of the problem

At SVT, senior advisor Henrik Selin says he is aware that SOM does not weight its results to compensate for underrepresented groups.

– It is entirely correct that this could be a relevant thing to mention for readers to understand the differences. This kind of methodological choice can be behind why you get different figures, he says.

Only now is it stated that it is “natural for us to mention this in future blogs and similar contexts”.

Ulf Dalquist, Head of Analysis at SR, also confirms that they are aware the SOM Institute does not weight its results and that there is “a slight underrepresentation” of Sweden Democrats—though he does not see this as a problem.

Abandoned more accurate measurement

For a long time, both SVT and SR also reported numbers from the Media Academy’s trust barometer, but there, trust started to decline around 2010, and a few years later, they stopped referring to that measurement. Unlike the SOM Institute, the Media Academy weights its figures, and trust in SVT and SR has dropped significantly in recent years’ measurements.

The results differ greatly— in 2018, the SOM survey stated that 73 percent trusted SVT, while the corresponding figure from the Media Academy was 58 percent.

Worrying trend

In the 2018 government public service inquiry, the declining trust figures in the Media Academy’s survey were described as a “worrying trend.” SVT’s then-CEO Hanna Stjärne and chairwoman Anna-Karin Celsing responded by dismissing those numbers and referring to SOM’s “high trust.”

In the latest public service inquiry in 2024, SVT described trust as “very stable over time,” while SR claimed it to be “extremely stable,” referencing only the SOM survey.